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Chapter 2: Demons to Some, Angels to Others
A hard breeze blew through the woodland area, combating in volume only against the sound of a Motorcycle engine loudly thundering down a road. The driver was wearing a red Trenchcoat and a red Motorcycle helmet with a black visor to hide his face. His hands adorned fingerless, leather biker gloves and his black combat boots rested on the lower footrests with tight unease. He was running from something. Every now and then he’d turn his head over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being chased. He was nearing his next stop… Oakswood, a small town in the middle of a bunch of forestation. A perfect place for a pit-stop. The rider stopped by a hill overlooking the town, stepping off of his biker and examining his surroundings to make sure he still wasn’t being followed or, if he was, that his pursuers would make themselves known. Satisfied that he was alone or his pursuers were very good at concealing themselves, the rider turned and removed his helmet, revealing a youthful face, slitted sky-blue eyes, and shortly cut white hair. He breathed out a sigh as he stared down at the busy streets of the small town. He stood there for what felt like an hour, just… watching. Not thinking, not worrying, not caring… Just admiring the view. After a while, he sniffed and put his helmet back, returned to his ride, and took off for the town, his Trenchcoat flaps fighting the wind as he drove. Out of the Frying Pan ---- Lauren It had been two weeks since the incident at the school. Police, news reporters, detectives… everyone was baffled. An explosion happened, that was certain. But one that can utterly annihilate every trace of rubble and tables and… everything that was in it? Utterly improbable. Officer Lauren Presburne was unconvinced that they should just drop it. Just because it was a small town, doesn’t mean that strange happenings should be ignored! She sat in the passenger seat of her shared Police cruiser alongside the driver and her partner, William Warreth. Both of them weren’t detectives, nor did they have warrants for searches or arrests. But they- or, at least Lauren, were determined to figure this mystery out. Will groaned, both in disbelief of her claims and the fact that coffee with too much creamer gave him a stomach ache “Laurie, you’re over-thinking this. Things explode all the time!” Lauren scoffed at his attempt at reasoning “Of course they do, Will… But do said explosions erase all cellular traces of objects other than ash and dirt’s existence? I don’t think so.” Will shrugged “Whatever. I’m sure Matt’s gonna be glad to see us. If he brings up the fact that you’re investigating him without a warrant to our superiors, it’s your ass, not mine.” Lauren rolled her eyes at her “faithful” comrade. “Way to be there when I need ya’, Will…” They pulled up to Arra’s house and got out, Will dragging this on “I’m just making sure I don’t take the heat for your superstitions. The higher ups told us to leave it alone, and that’s what we should do.” Lauren scorned his idea “What? So we can arrest potheads and watch Phillips get heartburn until he dies?” Upon finishing her sentence, Lauren knocked on the door, intent on finding out if her regular street punk knew anything. ---- Arra Arra opened her door, her hair a slight mess from just being lazy all day. Today was a Saturday, after all. Her stomach dropped when she saw it was a member of the local law enforcement, but her out shell showed nothing but acceptance and slight curiosity. “Why hello there!” Arra said cheerfully. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors today- may I ask that you wait right here for a second? I know that you’re here for Matt. I’ll bring him right out.” She said, before quickly closing the door. Cops sometimes showed up at her place, and it was all because of Matt and his drugs. Arra never smoked anything- not even cigarettes, so why was she the one getting all the heat? “MATT! GET YOUR FILTHY HOBO ASS OUT HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT! Get these damn police off my property!” Arra screamed, knowing that Matt could certainly hear her from the other room. Arra wasn’t happy with Matt- she was content with being lazy and watching TV with her friends all day. But nnooooo Matt always had to be involved with his damned drugs! If there wasn’t police around, she’d be willing to give him a solid piece of her mind.... ---- Matt A plume of smoke rose throughout the closed room, eminating from Matt and Auby's mouths. Matt took a huge toke out of the joint, taking a deep hit, inhaling it deep into his lungs and held his breath. After about ten seconds, he slowly let the smoke out, stifling a cough as he did so. He then passed the large joint to Auby, leaning his back on the couch in the spare room that Arra had. His mind was numbed and seemed to tingle as his body seemed to melt into the couch. Nyx was sitting atop his shoulder, getting high just from the fumes from the hotbox that was created. Uriel was in the living room with Arra, not wanting anything to do with the trio. He suddenly heard Arra yelling something about a hobo's ass and police. Matt sighed heavily and got off the cough, stumbling straight into a wall. Shit. He thought that the shit that they smoked wasn't just weed, but laced with something else. Acid? He was hallucinating slightly. Fuck. He was gonna kill Jesus, his dealer. Jesus Christo, was his name. Shady man, but he had some good shit for cheap. Matt slammed into the door and fumbled with the door knob, slipping out and slamming the door behind him, keeping the smoke in the room with Auby. Poor guy...It was his first time smoking, and smoking laced shit? He was either going to die, or trip balls. Matt gained his composure, clearing his mind and quickly spraying himself with deoderant that he always kept in his cargo pocket of his pants. He was able to pull off not being stoned so well due to the years of smoking. He could fool a lie detector. Matt went to the door, the stench of marijuana being drowned out by the overwhelming smell of the deoderant. He opened the door, preparing for the worst. However, he was greeted by the sight of the two cops with whom he actually didn't mind. Presburne and Warreth. "Whaddup, biznitches?!" Matt said as he saw the duo. He always had a cavalier, devil-may-care attitude around them, usually to hide the fact that he was stoned off his ass every time they came around. Did they have a radar or something? ---- Earendur Matt had some song playing on the nearby radio. The host said it was "Good Time" by Leroy. It was his turn to "toke" when Arra called Matt in. Nyx looked "buzzed" pretty well, looking dazed and stumbling about on the top part of the couch that they leaned against. He mimicked Matt's movements and tried to follow his instructions to the letter but ended up having a hard-fought bout with his own lungs afterwards. It was awful! His chest hurt so bad from the smoke and strain of breathing... Tears formed from it as well and he was wondering if he was about to vomit or pass out. And then it happened. Just as the song picked up, everything became a mixture of bright colours. The radio became akin to a Sci-Fi wall of buttons and dials, the speakers forming a smile and moving like it was singing the song itself. He looked over as his eyes dilated and saw Nyx turn into a bat and fly off into a sea of purple, splashing onto the rug and swirling around like a maelstrom. He looked up at a nearby lamp and it seemed to form... a body... a feminine one, beckoning him closer. His small, Elven ears twitched in curiosity as the whites in his eyes turned exceedingly red. ---- Lauren Great. Matt, yet again, was fried out of his mind. She pinched the bridge of her nose as Officer Warranth moved his hand in front of his face to deter the strong stench of the young man's deoderant "Jesus, kid, you smell like my father on Church night!" Pushing the issue aside, Lauren questioned "I was just wondering where you were the day the school blew up." ---- Arra The heat of anger filled Arra’s mind, but she forced herself to suppress it. She could deal with Matt’s bitch ass later. She didn't have the time-or the baseball bat- to reinforce the fact that Matt was supposed to be smoking outside, not defiling her nice apartment. And the fact that he didn’t do a good job at hiding that he was a dumb stoner made her even angrier. There were police here, god damnit! Why did they have to come right now, of all times?! They wouldn’t be here if not for Matt and his damn pot. Drugies... may they rot in the deepest fires of hell for defiling her home and bringing the police here. Perhaps if Matt knew all of what Arra had to go through to “convince” the landlord to let her stay, despite Matt’s drug abuse. She hated herself for it, but hey, whatever it takes to keep her family-Matt included- off the streets. Oh, the things a body can do.... But keeping Matt out of that loop... It’s the best she could do to protect him. Arra shook her head. “As strange as it was, we don’t know anything more than what the news provided us with. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that you’ll have to take your leave... I do have a household to run, if you don’t mind...” She stated, eager to have the police off her property. ---- Matt Oh shit... Arra was pissed. He felt it in the air like a thick, suffocating fog. Her anger, coupled with the duo's question, sobered Matt up fairly quickly. "You heard the lady. We don't know a thing." Matt lied. Why were they asking them? Did they know about Matt, Arra, and Surion being there? Or about the alien elf lady named Tamuril? Matt kept his face unyielding. The sooner both of these cops got out of here, the better. He had to give the cops credit though. As far as Matt knew, they were the only ones who knew about the death of Matt's parents and his subsequent homelessness. They were the ones who kept him out of the orphanage. He owed them, big time. Sure, he may have also been an informant to them, but he also saw them as friends. They were good people. However, Matt had to keep his facade for now. ---- Lauren Officer Lauren gave a suspicious glare at the clearly-high teen “Are you suuure you haven’t seen anything… nooote worthy?” As she said this, the lights in the house dimmed, followed quickly by a loud scream of pain and a zapping noise in the other room. The smell of smoke and the lights returning to normal gave cause for no worries on damage to the apartment, but the guest in the other room was a different story. Both Lauren and Will raised their brows at the pair from this sudden development, curious as to why it sounded like a Chimpanzee was being neutered in the other room. ---- Earendur Earendur has had better ideas in his life. Ones that didn’t involve nearly melting off his mas. Comical white tears streaking down his cheeks, he fanned his crotch with his hands and blew wind down at it with his puckered lips, frantically trying to reduce the swelling. It felt tingly but pain jolted through him when he dared to touch it. He needed help. “Matthew! Arra! HELP!” At this, he waddled his way into the other room, not caring of the guests, and began crying frantically in Vaardenvalian, Will immediately shielding his eyes and Lauren’s eyes widening and her jaw dropping. She looked away and shouted at Matt “What the hell are you doing?! Smuggling Chinese sex slaves or something?!” ---- Tamuríl ---- Shu! Tamuríl still couldn’t remember anything! It was like a dream; there, but unable to be remembered. At least, until it was too late. She lay in a bedroll in this “Arra” person’s home, conveniently poised to avoid the sun. She stared up at the ceiling, at the spinning fan as she tried to recollect her stolen thoughts and memories when the blue-haired pixie landed on her breast, greeting her with a cheery “Hello~!” Yipping in excitement and terror, Tam recoiled back, knocking the small creature on her blanket-covered lap clumsily. She rubbed her head and groaned “Geez… I’m not that scary, am I?” Tamuríl has already met both the fairies; the virtuous, ditsy one with a cutesy attitude and the mischievous practical joker whose skin resembled her own. Both were comical little sprites but not worth her time. Neither knew anything of what happened to her, much less could they even understand her or her them. All these people, Earendur included, spoke a language that was not her own. She quizzed the little fairy while picking it up by its wings, examining it “Vel’bol ph’dos xundus, trala klez?” This translated to: “What are you doing, tiny thing?” Unfortunately for both, Uriel couldn’t understand her and merely demanded to be released futilely. Sighing in defeat, Tam let her go and merely flopped back onto the bedroll in confusion and despair, the latter of which was only helped by the comfort of her sheets. ---- Arra ---- Oh my god. No, not now. FUCKING CHRIST NO! Arra faced flushed in embarrassment, and she had to act fast. A flailing child with a swollen dick certainly didn’t look good with the police around. She looked back at Matt. “Go. Fucking. Help him.” She hissed at him, a slightly wild look in her eyes. They were both going to get a good piece of Arra’s mind once the police left. One that most likely involved a strong pimpslap that would be red for a while. ‘''Gotta keep the pimphand strong...’ Arra looked back at the police, and awkward smile on her face. “Sex slave? Hardly. Foreign family member how barely speaks any English? Yes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I obviously have some important matters to attend to.” Arra said, her composure cracking under the insanity of it all. This was just too much for her. She needed to have a good vent cry soon, but only if these damned police would get off her property.... “If you don’t have a warrant, then you’re going to have to leave. ''Now.” She finally said. “Come back at a later time, perhaps?” She asked before practically shoving the cops out the door and closing it behind her. She turned around to look at the boys, the fury of a thousand suns burning in her eyes. One could practically feel the hate and rage the emanated from her. Matt and Auby were so fucked. ---- Matt The lights dimmed in the apartment which was closely followed by a smell of burnt flesh...Then, the sight of Auby with a red dick and pants on the ground. If not for the utter shock of what he had just seen, he'd have been laughing his ass off. Hearing Arra's command, Matt ran to the fridge and grabbed some ice, putting it in his outstretched shirt. In passing, though, he caught a glimpse of Arra's eyes. They were as a vortex of evil and hatred, a black pit of despair. He felt a lump form in his throat as he pushed Auby into the room. The first thing Matt noticed was the smell. A mixture of stale weed and burnt flesh and hair. He did his best to ignore it as he took his shirt off, wrapped it around the ice, and shoved it onto Auby's crotch. "Hold this." Matt commanded. He then looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was the lamp on the floor. It had no bulb in it and it had scorch marks. Putting two and two together, Matt asked. "Did... you fuck the lamp...?" The question lingered in the air like the stench did. Matt waited for a reply, hoping the answer was no. The Angelic Ghost from Outer Space ---- Shade A black car, not unlike the one seen during Presidental affairs, rolled through town. It lacked any identifying marks or symbols, and any information one tried to gather on the car itself besides the VIN was concocted, even the identity of the men inside couldn't be trusted. For one of them, it was life or death that this was so. He was known far and wide in the criminal underworld as the King of Death, a monster or savior, if you could afford his prices while outbidding your rival. At least, that was when he was unemployed. His new job paid much more then the standard assassinations. Then again, how much could secure loyalty to a man who seemed to think Demons exist? A few weeks into the job, he knew well that they were real as well, and more dangerous than any man in history. That's why he was sent to the once quiet town, to find any proof of Demonic activity and recover any evidence, while hunting one man, who's capture took backseat to the current job. There was no conflict of intrests there, both jobs came from the same man, but deep down, the assassin wanted nothing more than to kill two birds with one stone. The car stopped suddenly at the police station, while the assassin clambered out the back. The moment his boots touched down onto the parking lot, the killer persona vanished, replaced with one of many pseudonyms. His manner of dress indicated that he worked for the FBI or CIA, and he had the clearance to prove it. He walked into the building and flashed his clearance. Only a few moments later, the chief came out and asked why the government sent out one of the higher-ups when everything was under control. Following the chief to his office, the assassin, operating under the assumed name Andrew Freeman, spoke slowly, not wanting to risk inciting a panic. "The events last night have been re-classified as a terrorist attack. A stupid highschool prank it may have been, but when a school goes up in flames, I step in and take control. Normal kids can't get that many explosive compounds. I've seen plenty of bombs in my day, but a cherry bomb that ain't. I'm sure it wasn't a nuke, but I can't get Hazmat here 'till first thing tomorrow to find out WHAT the hell it is. I want all your evidence and custody forms pertaining to it by the time they arrive. Also, I want to inverview every officer who was on duty twenty four hours before, during and after the bombing. However, we can do all of this tomorrow morning. Tell no one I said anything." he said. "Oh, and if you feel anyone has information I do need before then, send them to the hotel and ask for a fireman." He walked out as calmly as he had going in, trying to assure people that everything was under control, that they were safe. Deep in his heart, he wished that was true, that these people were safe, but words could only do so much. Discovering what happened was his job, giving closure to the innocent was his bonus. ---- Metharme ---- Securing Data Feed. Reinforcing Firewalls. Pooling Data… 1%... 14%... 50%... 78%... 100%. Data successfully pooled. Analyzing Data. Date: September 6th, 2012. Analyzation Log: Facility broken down by extremely large amounts of plasma energy, though no traces of it or any cellular pre-existence of objects in the facility are left. This is not the work of the contractor. End log. Metharme’s eyes opened, the stream of code dissipating from them. She blinked once and unplugged her flash drive from the laptop in front of her, the former being connected to one of her mechanical boxes for ears via a cord that retracted back into her head. Metharme was a XL-R8 femdroid produced by an advanced, top-secret robotics research facility in China. Her sophistication and memory are extremely impressive: 400 exabyte. Memory core with two spare 14 Terabyte flash drives cleverly concealed in her ear-like receptor boxes. A hidden scanner system built into her cranium that allows her to see things in different vision modes and spectrums, record them, enhance and zoom, etc. She has downloaded specialty training of almost every kind of form of combat around the globe; most Martial Arts styles, firearms, exotic weaponry… Plus, her body is composed of a reinforced Carbon Steel alloy and covered by a synthetic, realistic skin to hide her true nature as a machine. A white, glue-like lubricant runs through her body to ensure natural functions keep the same, though an acid-based fake digestive system allows her to eat and convert the nutrients in foods to help replenish the lubricant. Thus, Metharme, as she has been dubbed, is the most human-like machine in the world. Her name derives from the Greek legend of the man who carved himself a wife of stone, Galatea, and the daemon of the man’s goddess allowed him to bear children with her: Paphos and Metharme. Of course, there was another Android by the name of Paphos that was a male replica of her, though they’ve never met. Metharme closed her laptop and set it aside as Shade entered the hotel room. It was rather late, but she personally cared not. She was a machine and, thus, didn’t need to sleep, only recharge. Shade, on the other hand, was human, as much as he’d like to deny it. He’d need sleep, especially since they’ve been travelling for so long. She turned and greeted, her dark, punk-styled hair swaying as her young head swiveled to identify him “Salutations.” Her voice was young and feminine, though mechanized and monotone. It looked like someone was playing a voice recording as her mouth moved. ---- Shade ---- "Hello Metharme. I'd love to talk, but I haven't slept since... I don't even know anymore." Shade said with a yawn. He was exhausted to the point of collapse, probably more than he let on. "If anyone comes up her looking for me, wake me up. Otherwise, we can get back to work in the morning." He walked over to the bed and kicked his boots off before passing out, still wearing his government agency suit. ---- Metharme Metharme nodded and unfurled a cord connected to a hidden chamber in the back of her head and plugged it into a power outlet in the room, charging her battery. Her eyes widened and she sat, cross-legged, in the corner of the room with her eyes the only light left on in the suite. If any sound was made in the room, Metharme would “reawaken”, and assess what it was. Otherwise, it was time to prepare for the next day. ---- Mountain Viper A simple job. Go in, capture or kill the punk, get the body, get out. However, what the contractor has told them about their target is that he is not of their world and is fully capable of firing balls and beams of energy from his body. At first, everyone on the team, Viper included, thought that was a load of crock and some asshole in a suit was pulling their leg. A suicidal move. However, Boss Aki reminded us what he is. A monster. If monsters like him can exist, then she supposed others could too. Hopefully it wasn’t as tough as Aki, though. The entire Phoenix Wing could band together and still not be able to take him down. However, the entire Phoenix Wing itself was taking on this mission. Mountain Viper was the codename for Mina Wong, an expert martial artist, veteran mercenary, and weapons technician of the Phoenix Wing, a contracted band of Mercenaries and outlaws lead by the white-haired man known as Akihiro. Akihiro Yatsumaru. His hair was naturally spiked and wild, his eyes a bright blue and slitted like a cat staring into light. He wore a black, spiked punk uniform that made him look like a Venus Flytrap. But he also always wore that necklace… that strange, red gem necklace that dangled down his thick neck, a soft contrast to his brutish exterior. In relation to that, in fact, Aki was just in the middle of choking a security guard at the dock they were in. The Phoenix Wing, rather than make a public appearance and risk alerting their prey, decided to stow away on board the metal crates on a cruise ship headed to Oakswood, which not only was surrounded by forest on one side but nestled next to the ocean on another. The dock worker was lifted off the ground by Aki’s strong grip as he grinned menacingly down at him, demanding in that rough, vicious tone he had “Tell me what I want to know or I’ll rip your throat straight out!” The dock guard managed to choke out “School… gone… explosion… Don’t know… any… Suri-“ At this, Aki either got fed up by the guard’s choking or lack of information. Or he simply wanted to hold up to his threat. A loud crack and gurgling sounds followed along with the slumping sound of the guard hitting the concrete. Viper spoke up, being Aki’s Leiutenant “Our next move, sir?” Normally, women around Aki were… brutalized in different ways than men. But Viper managed to escape such a fate by proving herself rather useful, both on and off the field. Thus far, its kept her alive and out of Aki’s clutches. Aki looked over his shoulder at her and his soldiers and grinned widely, eyes livid with insane cruelty and excitement “Our next move? What we always do, Viper… HUNT THIS CUNTBAG DOWN AND RIP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF! KILL HIS FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS, HIS NEIGHBORS, HIS MAILMEN, HIS TEACHERS AND COLLEAGUES, HIS CO-WORKERS, HIS BOSSES, HIS RIVALS AND ENEMIES, EVERYONE WHO HAS EVEN SEEN HIM! HEARD OF HIM! IF THEY SO MUCH AS BREATHE WITHIN A BLOCK OF WHERE HE’S STEPPED FOOT IN, I WANT THEM DEAD- NO, EXECUTED- NO, TORTURED! BURN THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN REGION DOWN IF YOU HAVE TO! JUST ENSURE THAT HE SUFFERS TO HIS LAST BREATH!!!” Laughing maniacally, Aki gave Viper got the chills. This was Akihiro, their Boss. Their leader. A bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac who happened to be unable to die. And if she quit, she’d join their target. ---- ???? ---- Ozzy Osbourne’s “Hellraiser” played as the red biker from before thundered down an empty road, trees as far as the eye could see. He loved Ozzy. In fact, he had to say he was one of his favourite artists. The rider then jolted his head up from his admiration of music and began sniffing the air. Blood. Almost doing a “donut”, as kids called it these days, he halted his bike while turning, causing it to screech and make a black trail with his back tire. Facing a path into the woods, albeit it being dirt-paved and lined with the occasional rock or tree root, he powered up his ride and thundered on, toward the source of the smell. This daylight should make finding it easy. It wouldn’t have been noteworthy if it had been animal blood, but this was Human. And lots of it. ---- ????? ---- A warm wind blew through the trees, bringing with it various smells and sounds. A pale-skinned man knelt on one knee in the middle of the forest, uncaring of the nice and refreshing breeze. The pale man was skinny and lanky, wearing a gray hoodie and jeans. He had short, black hair that was, at the time, a tangled mess. A prominent scar ran down his face, the story-telling kind of scar. His eyes were closed and his mouth moving, the words coming out in a forgotten language. The voice coming from the man carried an Irish accent, however, not thick. The most prominent thing about the kneeling man, though, was at the end of his outstreched arms, where his sleeves were rolled up, just before his clenched fists, was the blood. Thick crimson blood poured out of his arms at the wrists. A bloody knife lay beside him, the obvious culprit. The man didn't seem to mind though, as he continued chanting. "Deu fer noakiim pa'tloah, gren fer blant kio." The man repeated over and over. As he chanted, the blood pouring from him began to tremble. Small ripples reverberated from the center of the pool, creating a ripple effect outwards. The blood rose in the air and began spiraling around him. The air became thick and heavy. The trees began bowing as the wind intensified. Dark clouds began forming overhead, spiraling around each other. A large hole opened in the formation. At this, the man looked into the sky, his dark eyes focusing on the hole. "After years of searching... It's almost time, brother." ---- Rider The choppy sounds of a motorcycle engine mixed with the crackle of dirt under rubber tires gave evidence to the rider’s arrival. The crimson helmet he wore that blended well with his equally red Trenchcoat protected his face from the strong winds hurdling menacingly in his direction, though it blew his Trenchcoat flaps wildly, which seemed to make the rider be more cautious with his driving. The last thing he needed was one of his flaps catching the back tire and ripping him off his own bike and into the air. Nearing the strong, intoxicating scent that lead him here to begin with, he ramped off a nearby boulder and onto what looked like an Occult ritual, out here in the woods. The maneuver was done out of habit. Used to, the rider did such things just to look impressive. Now, such spontaneous acts of dynamics were second nature to him. He saw the opportunity to take flight and enjoy a good view and took it. Looking around, he noticed quite a few things; Satanic-looking scripture, blood painting the area, mood-assisting weather… He had happened on quite the stereotypical cultist scene. Parking his vehicle by a nearby tree casually, he leaned it against it and turned towards the creepy-looking Edward Cullen-wannabe nearby, not bothering to remove his helmet to show him his face. He stared him down for a moment before greeting calmly in a young yet stern, tactful, and yet somewhat sarcastic voice “Yo.” ---- ????? ---- The kneeling man ignored the newcomer, looking down at his own blood. The blood continued swirling around him, slowly gaining speed and mass, becoming something solid. The man rose into the air gradually, the blood itself levitating him. The thick clouds swirled faster and the huge hole becoming more prevalent. His eyes closed slowly. The ritual was almost complete. Upon reaching a certain altitude, higher than any tree in the forest, the man opened his eyes and rose one hand in the air, his fingers casually extended upwards. "Out of Zion shall come forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Nation shall not raise sword against nation, and they shall not learn war anymore, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken. And thus heralds the ressurection..." The man called, his voice booming out. He pointed his hand downwards, towards the newcomer. Impudent fool. As the man lowered his hand, the sky darkened even more. Out of the hole came what appeared to be a giant meteor. It was a huge ovular rock, rivaling the size of four semi trucks stacked. It slowly lowered towards the ground, fire crackling around it from the atmosphere. The newcomer became shadowed by it as it descended upon him. ---- Rider The rider looked up to see the man, elevated by a swirling cloud of blood. It was quite the odd sight, but this man was used to them. Not wanting his bike to be crushed, he hefted up the vehicle and flung it into a nearby bush, causing a loud bang. At worst, he caused a dent or scrape against the beautiful red paint. Unclipping his helmet straps, he removed it, revealing his youthful, pale face with white hair and slitted, blue eyes. He chucked the helmet over at the bush as well and looked back up as the burning ball of rock slowly came down upon him, threatening to crush him completely. He didn’t give a look of worry or panic, just calm waiting. As the meteor descended upon the landscape, tall trees cracked and splintered, being crushed beneath the weight of the burning hunk of rock. Clenching his oddly sharpened teeth in subtle preparation to meet this falling object, the rider knelt down and whispered with hands clasped together in a prayer-like stance “But with righteousness he will judge the needy…” Leaves, grass, and wood burned with the scorching cloud covering the rock, causing the low crackle of fire to be distinctly heard in every which direction. “With justice he will give decisions for the poor of the Earth…” The meteor came crashing down upon the man, crushing him beneath its massive, burning hulk. The rider continued to recite in his mind “He will strike the Earth with the rod of his mouth…” Suddenly, the meteor became black and sick, the flames covering it becoming equally shadowed and deathly. The rock cracked and splintered in several areas, finally giving way and crumbling into blackened boulders, revealing an unharmed man staring up at the figure swirling in the sky through the power of blood. “…and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Popping his neck from side to side, the white haired rider gave a look of annoyance up at the cultist “Alright, punk… Let’s try this again.” ---- The Genocide Brothers The meteor had been destroyed. The man in the air slowly descended, drained of not only blood, but magic as well. He was spent. However, he had enough strength to lift his head as he landed and look at the rider and grin. "You should'a stayed home..." The man said. The blood stopped swirling around him and had gone back into his body. The blood clot the wound, stopping any further bleeding. Suddenly, two blades protruded from the man's chest. The blades were short daggers, belonging to a white haired, white robed man. His hair was shoulder length and ruffled, obviously unkempt. He was tan with good complexion. He was a good looking man with several similarities to the other man using the blood. The white haired man took a deep breath and exhaled, enjoying the air. When he spoke, he spoke with a deep Irish accent. "It feels so good to be back! Cide, what took s' damn long to bring my ass back? Heaven sucked! For every year on Earth, it's like a hundred up there! You can only do so much, you know. Boooooring! I mean come on!" The white haired man said in one breath. As he talked, he kept a firm grip on the daggers. ---- Rider The white-haired rider felt two searing pains impale through his shoulders, rather close to his chest. He clenched his teeth tightly as his eyes lit up in pain, his gaze becoming blurry and head trying to swivel around to face his unseen attacker. Oddly enough, a black liquid coated the blades rather than crimson blood. “Tch… I’m going to need new gloves.” he thought as his right hand’s glove ripped apart in the face of his bare hand’s transformation into a broad, black, shiny double-bladed axe. He turned on his heels quickly, boots crackling against the dirt, and aimed the blade at the assailant’s head. They’d regret fucking around with this guy, whoever they were. Huh. That was… Wait, what? He noted the attacker’s odd apparel: a white bath-robe, something similar to what an Angel would wear. White hair, similar to his, and a missing tooth? And this guy… came out of the meteor?! But that was to be reflected on later. Currently, the rider was taken aback by the way his axe simply phased through the man’s neck like it didn’t exist. All he managed to let out as his axe passed through him was “What the… hell?” ---- The Genocide Brothers The white-haired robed man simply grinned when the axe went through his neck. Apparently he hadn't forgotten his "gifts". Using this moment, the robed man phased through the axe-wielding individual, taking his daggers with him. Upon reaching the front of the man, the robed man jumped into the air, became solid once more, and kicked the assailant with both of his legs in a reverse dropkick manner, propelling the robed man forward. He landed right next to the person wearing the hoodie, named Cide. "Geno, be careful. This guy is... different." Cide said to Geno as he continued kneeling, trying to regain his strength. "Oh, come now! I've fought tougher!" Geno said as he ripped his robe away, revealing his tanned torso and duck pajama pants. "I just hope you know what you're doing." Cide said as he pulled a briefcase toward him. "Second verse, same as the first! Now gimme my blades, so that I can put him in a hearse!" Geno rhymed cheerfully. Cide handed Geno the briefcase, which he tossed into the air. It popped open, revealing seven blades resembling the two that Geno was carrying. They all fell, however, Geno hopped into the air to meet them. He twisted around them and, when he landed, he was holding all of the blades in his joints. One in each knee, one in each elbow, one in each armpit, and a double-sided blade in his mouth. "Mmf...Mrmf moo mif mit!" Geno said as he lunged towards the assailant, spinning as he did so, resembling a human buzz-saw. ---- Sadow The rider reached into his red Trenchcoat and began sliding out of his chest pocket a rather long-barreled, white pistol with Biblical Scripture etched onto it. Geno… and Cide? And they were Irish. The white-haired Immortal known as Sadow Yatsumaru had never faced against Irish before, that he could remember. And he could remember alot, unfortunately… Flashbacks of nightmarish experiments on his body came to mind. Needles filled with a black liquid stabbing into his skin. Pain filled every inch of his body and mind. Tears turning to red blood and, eventually, that same liquid over time. Poising his gun at the charging Irishman while painfully transforming his hand back to normal, Sadow braced himself for combat. It was a familiar feeling, the excitement of battle. He’s experienced it regularly over the course of his long life. Against Nazis and Italians, Koreans and Vietnamese… Against Cubans. Even… against his own brothers. That adrenaline rush that both excited and appalled him coursed through his body. It didn’t matter, the nationality or intent of his attackers. All that mattered now was that they were his enemies. And Hell-Hunters destroyed their enemies. ---- The Genocide Brothers Geno bounced sporadically towards Sadow, flipping and twisting as he did so. There was no discernable pattern from his movements, perfect for his type of fighting style. As he neared Sadow, Geno heard a shout from behind him. "Geno, now!" The shout came from Cide, who was holding an assault rifle. It was an M-16A4, heavily customized for Cide's specific needs. He held it at an awkward angle, his pointer finger and thumb near the barrell, the tips slightly over the opening of it. Cide fired a single round, the bullet exiting the barrell, passing past his fingers, drawing the slightest bit of blood on both sides of the bullet. Time seemed to slow for Cide as his blood flow increased, activating his adrenaline and increasing it to the max. The bullet soared through the air, spinning, being guided by Cide via the blood. Just as it neared Geno, Geno went into his "Ghost" form, the bullet passing harmlessly through him. Cide angled the bullet to hit Sadow's hand that held the gun, aiming to disarm him. Sadow was tough, Cide noted. He wasn't normal. Was he a product of "them"? He'd find out soon enough, Cide surmised. As soon as the bullet hit Sadow's hand, Geno exited his Ghost form and flailed through the air towards Sadow, now a few feet from him. In half a second, Geno would be ripping through Sadow like a wet tissue. ---- Sadow Sadow’s eyes lit up in searing pain as the blood-covered bullet blew his hand off, his own black blood splattering out of the chunk of hanging flesh and leather from the black glove. The pain was unimaginably great. But he had to attend to the immediate threat; Geno. Eyes lighting up red and teeth clenching hard, Sadow aimed his now-stump of a hand at his assailant, the dripping black liquid hardening upward into a drill-like spike intent on impaling the approaching fool. The Phoenix and the Dragon ---- Akihiro Everything was in place. As he stared off the balcony, down at the East Oakwood Bridge, Aki’s necklace blew forth from the wind, still hanging only from the strength of his beefy yet youthful neck. His blue, slitted eyes scanned the busy bridge as his men took their positions at each end of the road, their weapons neatly packed in their cars and ready to form the blockade once the targets were in position. Mountain Viper had done her job well. She was the one who informed them of the target’s location. Rather than simply go in and kill the punk, however… Aki wanted this rather gruesome execution to be broadcast. What better way to show off one’s power than on a stage, afterall? Nearby stood several of his men, each armed with fully-loaded RPG-7’s and spare rockets. His professional sniper, Irons, is positioned in a nearby clock tower with his custom AW50F Sniper Rifle. One of the most elite combat experts New Zealand has to offer, Irons has one of his eyes replaced by a cybernetic one that can aid him in aim and adjusting to various conditions and settings when in combat, a useful tool. Finally was the man who was going to be hunting the target down personally alongside Mountain Viper; M.A.R.S. (Master Assassin Relentless Slayer), a bit of a childish name Aki had to say but the man lived up to his boasts. Armed with advanced tech supplied by the Gentleman and well-trained by Aki himself, M.A.R.S. has been engineered into a lethal machine of wanton destruction. Originally a hardened manhunter, the man now served the Phoenix Wing’s goals. Aki’s goals. He should be more than a match for a “Magically” gifted brat. ---- Earendur Earendur felt awful. The scolding Arra had gave was furious. Of course, Tamuríl was completely oblivious to what was going on and Earu didn’t have the heart to explain it to her. Instead, he simply told her that they broke house rules and were scolded for it. In an effort to win back Arra’s good graces, both Earu and Matt had devised an earlier plan as the effects of the weed began to die back down once more to get Arra an apology gift. Something meaningful that would make her hug them rather than want to beat them with a broom. Perhaps a pardol? Regardless, Matt had a friend of his loan him his car every now and then with promises to pay him back for gas. Now was one such an occasion. This “Jimmy” person advised Matt with caution “Now be careful, Matt. I dunno if your weed wore off yet and I don’t want you bumping my baby into another car again…” ---- Matt ---- Fuckin' Arra... Matt grabbed the keys away from Jimmy and limped towards the car. "Don't worry, Jim-Jim. However stoned I was is now worn off, thanks to a swift ass-kicking I just endured..." Matt muttered as he unlocked his door, slid into the driver's seat, and unlocked the door for Auby. He turned on the car, put it in drive, and slowly drove out of Jimmy's driveway. Through studying and a bit of drug money, Matt had managed to get his license. That was one of his greatest accomplishments, something he was incredibly proud of. Albeit, he had no car, he could always bum one off of his drug dealer. He just had to be careful. After all, it wasn't his fault some idiot was driving a van that swirved all over the road. As soon as Matt and Auby were out of eyesight and earshot of Jimmy, Matt floored it, hitting the accelerator and peeling out on the road. Jimmy's "baby" was about to be road hard and put up wet. As Matt weaved in and out of traffic, coming to the bridge that led to town, he talked to Auby. "Now you've seen Arra's bad side. Christ on a motherfuckin' crutch, she can be mean... But, we'll make it up to her. I was thinkin' a 10-foot purple dildo, what do you think?" Matt said as he laughed, narrowly missing a Mustang's bumper as he swirved through traffic. ---- Earendur Earendur did not know what a dildo was, but if Arra liked it they should get it! “Certainly! I’m sure she’d love this… dil-doe.” As they sped on, Earendur turned on the radio to a song called “Love Is What I Got” by Sublime. It had just started. Earu liked the beat it had and began patting the leather covering of where the window slid up with his right hand to the rhythm. Before either of them knew it, both were singing along with the song, Earu trying hard to match Matt’s knowing of the lyrics. ---- The Genocide Brothers The tactic was successful. As Geno neared Sadow, he became ethereal again, phasing right through him and avoiding the attack. As he passed through him, he phased back into existance, then did a backflip, slamming into Sadow. As contact was made, Geno spun furiously, ripping against Sadow's flesh. Suddenly, Geno disappeared, then reappeared next to Cide. "Woohoo!!! I missed this shit!" Geno said, dropping the blade out of his mouth to talk. "Don't get cocky, Geno." Cide said as he leveled the rifle at Sadow and began firing controlled bursts at him, keeping him at bay. "D'aww, what'cha worryin' for? I mean come on! You shot his gun out of his hand! That's just cool. And what, he can make his body parts into weapons? Psh. Big deal. That white haired dude ain't got nothin'! There's only room for one white haired man in this story, so time to make him a woman!!" Geno said as he popped the blade into his mouth and began spinning towards Sadow again. ---- Matt The car ride was boring, however, it was made better by Auby's presence. He was a cool little fucker, Matt would give him that. They sang together, however, the next song on the radio was where it was at. Matt knew it as soon as it came on. The familiar beat, the retro sound. It was an 80's power ballad, one of Matt's favorites. Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Matt sang loudly with the words, throwing his arm around Auby's shoulders playfully as he sang horribly. "Once upon a time there was light in my life! Now there's only love in the daaaaaaaark..." ---- Sadow Yatsumaru Sadow heard it. That faint... call. Regardless of his pain, of his enemies, of his agonizing attempts to regenerate all this damage. He could hear that faint whistle. The call he made. His head jolting to the side as he clenched his teeth and regenerated, he turned back to his combatants “Luckily for you assholes, I’ve just found a bigger fish to fry… I’ll be back for you later!” At this, he bent down and retrieved his empty pistol, holstering it in a concealed strap hidden in his Trenchcoat. He turned to leave but was confronted with a further delaying situation. His motorcycle was smashed by a nearby tree that had been flattened by the crater. Fuck. He gritted his teeth angrily. Those bastards would pay for that too. Turning, he yelled “Spot me a ride and I’ll forgive you for cutting me up!” He hated having to resort to this but he needed to get there quickly. If he was here, no doubt lives were at stake. ---- Earendur Once more, Earendur merely followed Matt’s steps with the song but enjoyed the revelry of the situation. However, something felt off as they entered the bridge. Perhaps it was the Earthen air? No… something felt off about the situation itself. Then… Earu heard it. A loud bang, followed by several of them along with Matt cussing loudly and hissing prods guided by fire soaring toward them. Bollocks. ---- Akihiro Staring below at the bridge, the car designated by Mountain Viper was attempting to cross the bridge. Raising his hand for his men to prepare and take aim, he lowered it once they crossed halfway. It was a long bridge and the other end was blocked off thanks to his men. It was time to begin the fun~ He had also whistled for his friend to join in. Oh, the merriment they would have in the destruction of this worthless city. Aki missed grinding the man’s face into concrete. The missiles all launched down toward the bridge, carefully and precisely aimed to where the car was heading to be able to, if not hit it, shake it up a bit. ---- The Genocide Brothers The brothers heard Sadow's words just as Cide was levelling the rifle to take another shot, this one aiming to blow Sadow's head off. Cide simply blinked, then said in a cool voice. "Are you high? Hell no." Suddenly, Geno popped in, leaning close to Cide. "Waaaiiit, wait wait. I think we should give him a ride." Cide looked at Geno, a look of shock clear on his face. "What?! Geno, you were just about to neuter him, and now you want to help him?! That's fucked up, even for you!" Geno simply patted Cide's shoulder. "Bro, we need to advance the story. If we don't take this old boy, then Matt and Surion will surely be killed by Akihiro. Then what'll happen? This story will lose two of it's most important characters!" Cide blinked several times, then asked. "Geno...What the fuck are you talking about?" Geno simply leaned in close to Cide and whispered. "You don't wanna know." After that, Geno turned to Sadow and bounced over towards him, hopping instead of walking. Once he got a couple of feet from Sadow, Geno stopped and raised his hand in a form of a handshake. "The name's Geno, and that's my brother, Cide! Pleased to meet'cha!" ---- Matt ---- "FUCK ME UP THE ASS!!!" Matt spurted, the words just coming out of his mouth. One second, he was driving along, then the next, cars were flying and there were explosions everywhere. Matt saw a trail of smoke, then an explosion. Was that a...Fucking rocket?! Several more of the bright flares were racing towards them, which Matt did his best to dodge and weave. He slammed on the gas and raced through traffic, however, this wasn't enough. So, he did the only thing he could do. Matt stuck his arm out the window and charged up a Mana Cannon shot, yelling as it left his hands. "Uriel, Nyx! Guide the shots!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Uriel and Nyx shot out of the window and helped guide the shots towards the rockets. They repeated the process several times, destroying several rockets and creating chained explosions. Matt drove like a mad-man, hoping to outrun these terrorists or whoever the fuck they were. "Fuckin' assholes!! I don't wanna die to Bonnie Tyler!!!" ---- Shade Explosions. The very sound that defines war, moreso than gunfire and the swear-ridden screams of dying men. That sound is what awoke Shade. "What in God's holy name was that?!" he shouted. Did someone set off a bomb? Rockets? ''Whatever it was, one thing's for sure, it didn't bode well for him or his cybernetic companion. "Metharme, rise and shine. And please tell me you heard than blast go off. I need you to give me some directions." Inadvertantly, he spoke louder than he had meant to, his ears were ringing in the wake of the noisy explosion. ---- Sadow Yatsumaru Sadow gave a comically awkward look at the equally-white haired Irishman close to him. His sudden bouncy, bubbly personality unnerved the Hell-Hunter. He stretched his leg behind him and, reaching a foothold of ground, scooted away from the strange man while looking away “Uhhh… Yeah. Anyway, where’d you park your car? We need to head to the East Bridge.” Sadow knew the layout of the town thanks to a trained photographic memory and studying the town from afar. ---- Earendur Earendur’s hearing was gone and replaced by a faint, high-pitched ringing thanks to his sensitive ears. He let out a scream and cursed in Vaardenvalian as the rockets pounded the bridge they were on, testing its foundation and durability. The massive, metal bridge held together though concrete was strewn about and large holes had formed in the road because of the explosions. Next to it, a cloud of dark grey smoke shrouded the city. He looked ahead, his Elvish ears lowered in fright as an oncoming rocket shattered through their windshield and blew past them, scraping narrowly against the back and coming to a smoky halt. The Prince looked over at Matt and both started laughing hysterically at the dud just before it prematurely detonated, sending them rocking out of a smoking, fire-covered hull of metal. Magic protection on Earendur’s behalf protected them from the blast, but a road block could be the seen in the distance with an oncoming, armoured giant of a man marching towards them. “…Bollocks.” ---- Tamuríl Tamuríl's head jolted up at the sound of several loud explosions. The sound of battle. She stood up and shouted something in Drow to Arra, trying to alert her to what was going on. Not a week after those events that made her lose her memory, and she was already thrust into action yet again. Hopefully she could attain some answers as to what happened. ---- Metharme Metharme's glowing eyes turned back to normal and she unplugged the cord from her body at Shade's command. She stood up and headed towards the door, speaking without looking at him in haste “The sound came from the East Bridge. It sounded like rockets. I shall prepare your vehicle. Should I bother notifying the authorities?” She ran a plan of action in her head for preparing Shade for investigation and, possibly, battle; program his slick, black Sedan with the coordinates to reach the bridge, which is where she narrowed the source of the sound and vibrations to. The sound of RPG-7’s being fired followed by loud sounds of explosions lead her to conclude a terrorist strike was in the city, close to the bridge. She also began loading a stockpile of advanced firearms, ammunition, and grenades into the Sedan’s trunk for extra firepower if need-be. All of the weapons were already loaded and ready to fire with each bit of ammunition carefully assorted to the right gun in which to reload with. Her advanced laptop, a small kit of detective utensils and tools, Shade’s custom rifle “The Black Wing”, and Metharme’s hacker pad were stored in the backseat as she sat next to Shade in the passenger seat, ready for action. ---- Akihiro ---- “Tch.” Aki grunted, upset that a good majority of his rockets were wasted like that. Thanks to an enhanced sense of sight, he noticed the driver who used those balls of energy wasn’t their target. There’s more of these freaks? That wasn’t in their briefing file. Still, that made little difference. M.A.R.S. was now going to kill them, and all Aki had to do was sit back and enjoy the show. ---- Shade Shade followed Metharme out the door, lost in his own thoughts. "Notify them, but have them remain on standby until I ask for backup. The fewer people who see us work the better." he answered, sliding into the driver seat. The Sedan roared to life as he floored the gas pedal. Except for the noise generated by the car in motion, the high speed run to the bridge was quiet, just how Shade liked it when mentally preparing himself. In the back of his mind, he was asking himself questions that sane person should ask. ''Why this small town? Two attacks in just a week...why? Is there a connection between both the bombing last week and the explosion just now? Until he could see the damage done and talk to anyone linked to both attacks, not one of those questions had a logical answer, except for a massive case of bad luck, something that he honestly couldn't believe. "When you make the call to the authorities, tell them I need the bridge blocked off, fire trucks and rescue squads on site, the whole nine yards, if they aren't en route already." He cursed himself for not thinking of that a few minutes ago. In his personal experience, even those few minutes could be the difference between life and death. The trip was relatively short, probably thanks to Shade's lead foot. Once he saw the bridge he was in a state of amused shock. Whoever was using the rockets was a total dimwit. Using such weapons on a single car? Understandable, but instead of aiming for it, why not blow the bridge up and let the car fall to it's destruction? Wait...that car was blown to bits, yet a bunch of what he assumed were teenagers had survived. He might have to recind his disbelief in luck at this rate. "We might need a SWAT team to go to the other side of the bridge. Just in case things head any further south." After he spoke, he crawled out of the Sedan and opened the back door to retrieve his rifle before the thought dawned on him that maybe he should stay back and see just what those kids were capable of, after all, they survived a rocket, they obviously had something up their sleeves. ---- The Genocide Brothers Geno raised his finger triumphantly in the air, getting ready to state where the vehicle was. He then blinked and looked to Cide. "Bro...Where IS the car?" Cide sighed and led the duo to a large bush and shoved it out of the way, revealing an old, beat up gray van. There were splotches of orange rust where the paint had been chipped and scraped off. The van had obviously seen better days. "Right here...Let's just get out of here." Cide said through grit teeth. Geno bounced happily into the passenger's seat, turning the key in the ignition and blasting the radio. Blue October came through the speakers, which Geno quickly turned. "Cide and his emo music..." He mumbled. Just before Cide entered the van, he looked at Sadow sternly. "Listen. We'll take you to the bridge, but that's it. Try anything stupid, and I'll kill you. Understand?" However, Cide didn't wait for an answer. He simply got into the driver's seat and threw the gear into drive, half waiting on Sadow. ---- Matt Matt had just been blown up...At least he could say that now. He picked himself off the concrete, holding his aching head. With ears still ringing, he stumbled over to Auby and helped him up. "You alright, bro?" He asked. However, his questions were cut short when he saw a hulking guy in armor walking towards them. "The fuck is THAT?!" However, he didn't wait around for a response. He had used quite a bit of mana destroying the rockets. Matt wouldn't be defeated so easily, however. He grabbed Auby and dove behind the cover of a flaming car, thinking of escape routes. There were two: go through the behemoth, or... "So, um...Can you swim?" Matt asked as he looked over the side railing of the bridge. Maybe if they used mana, it could break their fall? Otherwise, it would surely kill them. "Fuck..." ---- Sadow Yatsumaru Sadow climbed into the back of the van and, upon hearing Cide’s worthless threat, he replied with a careless “Whatever. Just burn rubber already.” He was in no mood for snarky remarks at the moment. Not when Aki was here… Making that son of a bitch pay was all that mattered… ---- Earendur Earu shook his head frantically to try and dissuade Matt from attempting that maneuver “I’m afraid of heights! And deep water! And… dying! Besides, how tough can this one guy be anyw-“ Before he could even finish, the new assailant sliced clean through the burning hunk of metal they were hiding behind via a rather large sword with some sort of energy beam that burned clean through even dense materials surrounding the blade. “Like a Lightsaber!” Earu thought.